2

2017 has proved to be another demanding and exciting year,

offering both new pathways and obstacles for Offaly Traveller

Movement. We have continued to work towards our mission to

empower Travellers and build partnerships with the wider com-

munity and services to achieve equality and social justice for

Travellers, both nationally and locally in county Offaly.

On the 1st of March 2017, the Irish state conferred official

recognition on Travellers as an ethnic group, after momentous

effort by Traveller organisations nationwide, and pressure from

a range of international human rights organisations. This includ-

ed the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, the Om-

budsman for Children, various UN committees and the Europe-

an Commission, who had threatened legal proceedings

against Ireland for how Travellers are treated. This recognition

has been a long struggle and is a significant opportunity and

success for Travellers in Ireland. However, it is largely symbolic

in acknowledging and valuing the uniqueness of Traveller cul-

ture and identity, and does not create any new rights. It means

naming Travellers as a protected group in Irish equality legisla-

tion as well as inclusion in state anti-discrimination and inter-

cultural initiatives. I travelled with OTM to Dail Eireann and we

were present as the Taoiseach formally recognised Travellers

as a distinct ethnic group within the Irish nation. He acknowl-

edged that this was a historic day for our Travellers and a proud

day for Ireland. This was a major high point for us, in the context

of our work and experiences of the societal disregard of our

people. We hope that recognition of our ethnicity is merely the

beginning of things to come, and OTM will continue to endeav-

our to work towards full equality ,and highlight the need for leg-

islative and political change.

2017, also saw many projects and continuing work with Travel-

lers in Offaly. OTM undertook a review of the Horse Project to

inform future planning and delivery. This outlined the significant

value of the project from the perspective of the Traveller men

involved, despite the distinct and blatant challenges of its con-

tinuation. The review was presented in October as part of our

event for the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

which also showcased the OTM Youth Project short film. This

project saw the involvement of young people, making

a short video about suicide, and achieving QQI

certification in Media Expression.

OTM‟s departments, including the primary health

care project, mental health social work, mens

health, youth work and accommodation continue

to work tirelessly on a myriad of projects con-

sistent with our strategic plan. Despite challenges

and constraints of limited funding, OTM consist-

ently achieve much success in terms of interven-

tions, progress and outcomes. Throughout 2017, a

huge amount of interventions have been record-

ed by OTM which demonstrates the commitment

of staff led by dedicated Managing Director Em-

ma Gilchreest. I would like to take this opportunity

to sincerely thank our board of management,

staff, our local Traveller communities and the lo-

cal and national organisations who liaise with us

and support our work. May this work continue and

excel in the coming year, as we continue to strive

for equality in society for Travellers and work in

partnership.

Lily Ward: Chairperson

Message from the Chairperson

Chairperson Lily Ward with her husband Willie at

the St. Patricks day parade.

3

Contents

Introduction 4

OTM Consultation and Strategic Plan

Priority Work Areas

i) Horse Project Review 5

ii) Accommodation 6

iii) Health 7

iv) Mens Health 8

v) Mental Heath 9

vi) Youth 10

vii) Culture and Ethnicity 11

Staffing 12

Board of Management and Sub Groups 13

Organisational Chart

Representation & Networking 14

Financial Report 15

Emma, Sandra and Catherine present-

ed OTM‟s report My Geel Glorying, A

Report of two years of systemic psycho-

therapy work in collaboration with a

mental health social worker from within

Offaly Traveller Movement to the Annual

Conference of the Association for Fami-

ly Therapy & Systemic Practice UK, in

Dunblane, Scotland, September 2017.

OTM youth project recording their short

video as part of a QQI Media Expression

in October 2017

OTM staff

development

day 2017

4

Introduction

Offaly Traveller Movement has developed from Tullamore

Traveller Movement Ltd, a community development organi-

sation response to the needs of Travellers in Tullamore and its

environs. Established in 1991 TTM was launched in 1996 and

we have since evolved into Offaly Traveller Movement (OTM).

We continue to work for Traveller rights and social justice in

partnership with the wider community throughout Offaly.

We are an ever expanding non profit organisation with dedi-

cated staff members offering programmes responding to var-

ious needs such as health and mens health, mental health,

accommodation, youth, education, and human rights

Vision

The vision of Offaly Traveller Movement is for full equality and

social justice for Travellers in County Offaly.

Mission

The mission of OTM is to empower Travellers, and to work as a

partnership between Travellers and settled people to achieve

equality and social justice for Travellers in County Offaly.

Our Principles

The principles that underpin the work of Offaly Traveller

Movement focus on equality and social justice. We are deep-

ly committed to human rights using a community develop-

ment approach. This encompasses empowerment, participa-

tion, partnership and challenging discrimination.

The OTM Annual report provides a snapshot for our work

throughout the year, for more information please visit our

website on www.otm.ie and join us on Facebook

Strategic Plan

Following an extensive, facilitated whole-

team reflective exercise and two strategic

planning meetings in 2015, it became ap-

parent that the priorities emerging from the

2012 community consultation remain as

valid and applicable to Travellers presently

as they were three years ago, with many

indicators that they are even more acutely

pertinent now, given the continued deterio-

ration in funding and socio-economic con-

ditions. As such, it was considered inappro-

priate and unnecessary to undertake a fur-

ther consultation process with members of

the Traveller community in Co Offaly, but

instead retain the strategic priorities as the

basis of the present Strategic Plan (2015 –

2020), albeit with adjustments to reflect the

ongoing development of the service.

The following areas form the basis of both

the previous and current Strategic Plan, a

number of OTM studies are used as well as

policy statements relating to Traveller health

& wellbeing.

Priority Areas

Cultural and ethnic identity

Health

Accommodation

Education & youth

Enterprise and work

5

Horse Project Review

OTM Horse Project began in 2011 as a pilot project to engage with Traveller men in Offaly through horses. Initially set up

with no funding under the TMS, however, OTM applied for funding from the HSE and it was then set up as a mental health

project.

Horse Project Review

In 2017 OTM undertook a review of the Horse Project to inform future planning and delivery. The purpose of the review was

to capture evidence of „what works‟ to inform recommendations the for the future. A multidimensional well- being and

health framework, known as The Capabilities Approach, was used to analyse the data and as a tool for reviewing and

evaluating the effectiveness of the Horse Project in meeting the health and wellbeing needs of the Traveller men.

The review concluded that despite considerable challenges and difficulties, the testimony of the men more than demon-

strated its immeasurable value, outcomes and effectiveness across generations of Travellers. Offaly Horse Project Out-

comes were mapped against Nussbaum‟s Checklist of Capabilities using quotes from interview the Traveller men who had

participated.

Participants of the Offaly Horse Project

Quote: “It gave me hope that it would get

our culture to be alive and to get young

lads involved.”

“Quote: “I felt more alive at that time and I

felt more fitter than I am now. Compared to

now, sure we do nothing only sitting down.”

“Quote: ”It got the horses registered with

the department which we thought we

would never do, to get them registered.”

“Quote: “It helped a lot. I had depression for

years. I had a heart condition and when I

had that pain it gave me something to do.

Kept me busy.”

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Accommodation

Strategic priority 1.1: To achieve culturally appropriate accommodation for Travellers in County Offaly.

2017 continues to be an extremely challenging year for

Travellers seeking accommodation .This situation is reflected

nationally as Ireland experiences a serious housing crisis. An

unprecedented number of Travellers are now residing in

temporary and emergency accommodation, B&B‟s, on the

side of the road and in overcrowded houses due to being

homeless and without a long term housing tenure. Support-

ing Travellers in Offaly around the issue of accommodation

is still one of OTMs most challenging areas of work.

Offaly Traveller Movement currently employs 2 part time

accommodation workers who deal with a high volume of

referrals for support regarding housing issues.

Local Traveller Accommodation Consultative

Committee (LTACC)

In September, Offaly County Council housing staff, the Elect-

ed Members, as well as members of the LTACC and Traveller

Representatives met to discuss the challenges to the deliv-

ery of Traveller specific accommodation.

The aim of the workshop was to enable a solution

focused approach to progress the implementation of the

Traveller Accommodation Plan with regard to Traveller

specific accommodation. The Joint Workshop was titled

„Understanding the Challenges of Delivering Traveller

Specific Accommodation. The workshop showcased 2

insightful presentations, the first from, Ruth Gallagher,

from the Irish Human Rights Equality Commission on the

topic of Public Sector Duty as per Section 42 of the Irish

Human rights and Equality Commission Act. The second

presentation was delivered by Bridgie Casey & Jack

Keyes of CENA (Culturally Appropriate Homes), and

Traveller led Accommodation Association (TVAA). The

Workshop was facilitated by Dr. Johnson McMasters.

OTM Accommodation workers Sorcha Lewis and Sarah

O‟ Brien

7

1066 interventions

with women, 640

men

These include:

1197 Emotional

support

1305 Mental

Health Support

916 Bereavement

support

496 Child Safety

Awareness

346 Child Devel-

opment

161 Breast Screen-

ing information

120 Bowell

screening infor-

mation

248 Cervical

Screening infor-

mation

403 dental

health promotion

500 Smoking ces-

sation information

662 Nutritional

information

538 Diabetes infor-

mation

191 Asthma infor-

mation

447 Vaccination

575 Elder care

Referrals: 8 exter-

nal referrals made

to GP‟s, dental

services and so-

cial workers. 43

internal referrals to

the Mental Health

Social Worker and

120 accommoda-

tion referrals

Primary Health Care Project

(PHCP) is a health promotion initiative designed

and delivered by Travellers within their own

community. It is based on a community devel-

opment peer led approach and promotes

ownership and participation by Travellers in

matters affecting the health and wellbeing of

their own community. The PHCP commenced in

Tullamore in 1999 and following a comprehen-

sive training period, became fully operational

in 2003. The programme is a partnership be-

tween OTM and the HSE and employs 7 peer

Community Health Workers (CHWs).

The heart of the Community Health Worker‟s

work is to deliver healthcare information and

carry out outreach work with local families. In

2017 the PHCP provided healthcare advice

and information to over 900 Travellers.T he

CHWs play a vital role in ensuring that Traveller

families receive and understand healthcare

information. The health workers are trained to

deliver culturally appropriate information

across a wide selection of topics. These in-

clude: cancer screening, antenatal care, men-

tal health supports, dental care, child safety,

healthy eating, asthma and diabetes.

In 2017 CHWs delivered workshops on dental

health, managing asthma and diabetes. In

partnership with the Irish heart foundation and

the men‟s health worker, they organised health

check-ups which included cholesterol, blood

sugar, blood pressure and carbon monoxide

testing. In partnership with the Irish Heart foun-

dation the CHWs hosted a talk on good nutri-

tion, getting active, avoiding stress and watch-

ing blood pressure and cholesterol levels .

The CHWs are also actively engaged in sup-

porting the work of the mental health social

worker and the RPHN for Travellers, Nuala

Hogan. They took part in training around self

-harm. 3 of the CHWs completed the full

ASIST course (Applied Suicide Intervention

Skills Training) which helps participants to

support people at risk of suicide.

During 2017 the CHWs helped to organise

St. Patrick‟s day, the Traveller Pride event in

Charleville castle, trips to Croagh Patrick

and a social club outing to Bunratty Castle.

They delivered Cultural Awareness training

to 5Rivers Foster agency, to Jigsaw and to

staff at the Community Training Centre in

Tullamore.

Health

Strategic priority 2.1: To Increase life expectancy for Travellers in County Offaly.

Trip to Croagh Patrick in June 2017

Day out in Bunratty

8

Traveller Men‟s Health Men’s Social Group

Mens Health continues to be an important area of work for

OTM. In 2017 Frank Kavanagh took up post as the Traveller

Mens Health Worker. Throughout 2017 Frank worked tireless-

ly in successfully engaging men, empowering them in their

health, both physically and mentally, and worked with Les-

ley Jones on the Horse Project.

Men‟s Social Group

Given the alarming rates of suicide and poor mental health

of Traveller men, providing a social forum was seen as par-

ticularly important. The aim of establishing social groups

was to create a safe space, getting men out of the house

and discussing health and mental health. This included a

quoits group, handball group and several soccer groups.

These men took part in health checks and mental health

workshops throughout the year. This has significantly in-

creased the engagement and participation of Traveller

men is Offaly, allowing them to take ownership of their

health and well being. Following on from this, was the de-

velopment of the Men‟s Health Network, which will continue

its work in the next coming years.

Travellers Pilgrimage

This Pilgrimage to Croagh Patrick took place in June 2017

and was hugely successful. The interest in the pilgrimage

was such that two group trips were organised in order to

accommodate everyone. Although climbing Croagh Pat-

rick is no easy task, a total of 43 people took part on the

first day and 37 on the second day.

Physical Health

The mens health work focuses on a range of initiatives to

improve health including physical health. In November 2

mens groups took part in “Get fit month”, 10 men from Birr

and 12 from Tullamore. Both groups took part in a fundraiser

for Temple Street Childrens Hospital in Dublin. A charity

fundraiser was also held for the hospital whereby the men,

and Frank himself grew beards over November and had

them shaved at the public event. Some even braver men

opted for having their chests or legs waxed too!

The All Ireland Traveller Health Status

Study (AITHSS, 2010), highlights the

life expectancy gap between Traveller

men and settled men has widened to 15

years. Traveller men have six times

higher suicide rates than the settled

population and heart disease and

stroke account for 25% of deaths.

Mens Worker Frank Kavanagh having his

beard shaved for the Movember Fundraiser

for Temple Street Childrens Hospital

On the peak of Croagh Patrick June 2017

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Travelling to Wellbeing

Travelling To Wellbeing continues to offer professional and culturally appropriate, individual support,

family support, crisis intervention, advocacy and referral pathways to other services for Travellers.

Sandra worked with a range of services and values partnership working. She promotes positive men-

tal health training and local community mental health initiatives. Using a collaborative approach,

Sandra, with RPHN Nuala Hogan provide ongoing support for Travellers. the Travelling to Well-being

social worker, primary healthcare, men‟s health, accommodation and youth workers, work together

on an integrated mental health initiative.

2017 saw a significant increase in Travellers engaging

with the 1:1 service, with 120 service users compared

to 68 in 2016. As well as this work community and part-

nership was also prioritised and this included: Weekly

peer support group (Mincéars Táirien) in Birr & Tulla-

more. This year both groups were co facilitated in part-

nership with Shine. Working closely with the Shine Re-

gional Development Worker, workshops focused on

education and awareness programmes with a focus

on mental health and recovery.

17 women in Birr met weekly to engage in a range of

educational & health promotion workshops. They

have completed a number of QQI level 2 modules

and are due to be awarded a major QQI award in

2018. 16 women participated in Tullamore. Both groups

were offered support and training specific to their in-

terests and needs.

In conjunction with the National Traveller Women‟s

Forum Sandra launched a poster in March identifying

key issues for Traveller Women‟s Mental Health, follow-

ing consultation with Traveller groups and presented at

the 7th World Congress on Women‟s Health.

Working collaboratively with the local Resource Officer

for Suicide Prevention and the HSE, OTM are in the pro-

cess of developing a Crisis Response Plan in Offaly.

OTM in partnership with a range of local organisations

has delivered a varied programme of talks and activi-

ties to promote a positive understanding of mental

health and reduce the stigma associated with it.

Mental Health

Strategic priority 2.2: To improve Traveller mental health and wellbeing.

RESEARCH

Sandra carried

out a research

project “Family

Based

Interventions:

Advancing

Recovery for the

Traveller

Community in

Ireland”

exploring

Traveller specific

mental health

services, policy

developments,

barriers and

opportunities.

This

demonstrates

that delivering a

family tailored

culturally

sensitive service

for Travellers has

a positive impact

on their mental

health. It will be

published in the

Irish Association

of Social Workers

Journal in Spring

2018.

Sandra McDonagh pictured with Karen Boy-

lan from Shine

Mental Health Social Worker Sandra

McDonagh with John Connors

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Youth & Education

OTM Youth Project

OTM Youth provides young Travellers with informal, social

and educational support and a platform for youth develop-

ment. Weekly drop in clubs are an imperative social outlet

and a safe space for young Travellers from the ages of 10

and over. Throughout 2017 a total of 830 interventions were

made through a variety of activities such as : Homework

support & Maths tuition with OLDC.

Drop in club for secondary school age & a 2nd drop in

for primary school children.

Soccer tournament for boys.

Youth and Education Summer Project with OLDC.

Seasonal events such as at Halloween, Christmas and

summer trips, etc.

Various activities throughout the year including fitness

classes, swimming, art and crafts, pool and xbox, team

building and group development, games. make up and

skincare classes, nail art, drama, media expression and

other targeted projects.

Easter 2017: Youth trip to “Zip It” in Lough Key Forest

Park.

Summer 2017: OTM in conjunction with OLDC ran the

week long Traveller Youth and Education Summer

Project held in Puttaghaun centre in July, for those in

Junior cycle of secondary school. This project focused

on helping young people adapt to secondary school

and provide them with coping strategies, as well as

fitness and drumming workshops. Summer trips for all

groups included a team buidling trip to Lough Crew

adventure centre in Oldcastle, Meath.

October 2017: Youth short video “Breaking down

Walls” with QQI Media Expression Certification for the

International day for the Eradication of Poverty. OTM

Youth wrote a poem around young suicide and creat-

ed a video. They filmed this for their QQI course and

presented it as part of our Eradication of Poverty

event. Also in October many young people received

awards at the Exchange House Traveller Education

Awards in Dublin.

Christmas 2017: Christmas activities included our an-

nual visit from Santa and youth trip to Funderland at

the RDS in Dublin.

Towards the end of 2017. OTM developed an exciting

and dynamic new Youth Strategy will which inform

our future work.

Strategic Goal 4: To support Traveller youth and education.

OTM Youth Project pictured with Pierre Klein of the UN Eradication of

Poverty committee at the launch of the youth short film Ziplining at Lough Key Forest Park, April 2017

11

Culture and Ethnicity

2017 saw the birth of the OTM Traveller Pride Festival, initiated by the granting of state recognition of the ethnic status of

Travellers in March 2017. This additional dynamic of celebration aimed to showcase the vast array of positive aspects of

Traveller culture and celebrate bonds amongst both the settled and Traveller community. The family fun festival attracted

a large crowd of approximately 400 people, exceeding expectations. Entertainment included cultural history displays, live

concert, games, quoits, and ghost tours of Charleville castle. Children were entertained with face painting, games, races

and a circus workshop. OTM hosts an event to celebrate Traveller Pride week in June each year and we hope to make this

very successful venture an annual event.

OTM participates in the St Patrick‟s Day parade in Tullamore each year and this year was as enjoyable as usual. The staff

and students on placement put together a dynamic entry this year, appropriate to the theme of “Waterways” allocated by

the parade committee. Our vibrant float was awash with mermaids and sea creatures and all sorts of colorful water sym-

bols.

Strategic priority: 6.1 To promote Traveller culture in County Offaly.

OTM Traveller Pride Festival & Family Fun day 2017

St. Patricks day Parade 2017

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Staff Team of 2017 No Name Position Profile

1 Emma Gilchreest Managing Director Full Time

2 Sorcha Lewis Traveller Accommodation Worker Part Time

3 Sarah O Brien Traveller Accommodation Worker Part Time

4 Karen Guilfoyle Finance Manager Part Time

5 Bridget McInerney Administrator Part Time

8 Margaret Lovett Health Manager Part Time

9 Sandra McDonagh Mental Health Social Worker Full Time

10 Nuala Hogan Registered Public Health Nurse Part Time

11 Lesley Jones Horse Project Facilitator Part Time

12 Frank Kavanagh Mens Health Worker Part time

13 Mary McInerney Community Health Worker Part Time

14 Lily Kavanagh Community Health Worker Part Time

15 Pinkie McInerney Community Health Worker Part Time

16 Sarah McDonagh Community Health Worker Part Time

17 Brigid McInerney Community Health Worker Part Time

18 Celine McInerney Community Health Worker Part Time

19 Geraldine Ward Community Health Worker Part Time

20 Saranne Lovett Youth Team Leader Part Time

21 Elizabeth Doyle Youth Peer Worker Part Time

22 Adrian Kavanagh Youth NEETS Worker Part time (until June)

23 William McDonagh CE Placement: Receptionsit Part Time

24 Savanagh McInerney Student Placement

Sacred Heart Secondary School

Part Time ((Jan)

25 Janice O Brien Student Placement

NUI Maynooth

Part Time (Jan-April)

26 Paul Casserly Student Placement

Athlone Institute of Technology

Full Time (March- June)

27 Jimmy Maher Student Placement

NUI Maynooth

Full Time (Jan - April)

28 Olanrewaju Adenloye Student Placement

NUI Maynooth

Part Time (Sept- December)

29 Elizabeth Doyle Student Placement

Athlone Institute of Technology

Part Time (October - December)

30 Lillian Banda Bwanga Student Placement

Athlone Institute of Technology

Part Time (Sept- December)

31 Karen Boylan Student Placement

Athlone Institute of Technology

Part Time (From Sept)

32 Clodagh Gallagher Student Placement

NUI Galway

Part Time (From Nov)

33 John Foley Student Placement

NUI Galway

Part Time (Until April)

34 Martina Shortall Laois Offaly Education Training Board Part Time (Until April)

13

Board of Management

Offaly Traveller Movement Board of Management oversees the strategic direction, financial management

and staff development of the organisation.

The OTM AGM took place on 6th June 2017

Board Members for 2017 included

Lily Ward – Chair

Mary Rose Kerrigan – Vice Chair

Marrianne O Shea– Secretary

Liam Rodgers– Treasurer

Thomas McDonagh

The OTM Staff representative for OTM is Sarah Joyce O‟Brien.

In 2017 we said goodbye to board members Marina O „Malley and Graham Kavanagh.

We are grateful for their significant contribution and wish them well in the future.

Organisational Chart 2017

Saying goodbye to long standing Board of Man-

agement member Marina O‟Malley

14

Representing and Networking

During 2017 OTM was represented on the following external bodies

National Traveller Partnership, both as a Board member and on operations committee (NTP)

European Network Against Racism (ENAR)

European Anti Poverty Network

Committee for the International Eradication of Poverty

Local Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee (LTACC)

Irish Traveller Movement Central Group

Irish Traveller Movement Accommodation Sub Group

Public Participation Network

Offaly Mental Health Talk Week Committee

Offaly Traveller Interagency Group (TIG)

Regional Traveller Health Unit and finance sub-committee (THU)

National Traveller Women‟s Forum

National Traveller Health Network (NTHN)

Offaly Domestic Violence Support Services (ODVSS)

Tullamore School Completion Programme Board of Management

Midlands Regional Drugs Task Force Education and Prevention Sub Committee

Midlands Region Health Network (MHN)

Midands Regional Mens Network

National Traveller Suicide Awareness Project Steering Group

National Traveller Health Network

Travelling to Wellbeing Steering Group

OTM are members of:

National Traveller Partnership

Irish Traveller Movement

European Network Against Racism

European Anti Poverty Network

Community Workers Cooperative

OTM supporting the UN day fro the Eradication of

Poverty

15

Financial Report

16

17